[amuse_me]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and would like some help. Anyways, I will start with my sepcs.

ROOM TEMP: 19C - 21C
CASE: Antec 1200
PROCCESSOR: Q95550
MOTHERBOARD: [to be decided]
GPU: [undecided] 4890's Crossfire
RAM: Will be chosed with mobo
PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750w Quad SLI/Fire

I will not be doing any video/ photo editing, but will be playing game, word pad, spreadsheats, itunes, DVD backups, etc

Anywho, I have found three nice looking boards, that seem quite close to what I am looking for.

1) ASUS Rampage Extreme - $225 when on sale at NCIX.com http://ncix.com/products/?sku=33398&...nufacture=ASUS
DDR3
2PCI-E16
3PCI-E1
2PCI
CrossFire
SATA2
RAID
X-FI Motherboard

Now, since I am using a 775 proccessor, is the DDR3 really worth it?

2) ASUS Maximus II Formula - $279.99 not on sale http://ncix.com/products/?sku=33398&...nufacture=ASUS
DDR2
2PCI-E16
3PCI-E1
2PCI
SATA
RAID
GBLAN 1394
Now, this is a DDR2 board, and is more expensive, what gives? (Both boards are the same price normallt)

3) Gigabyte EP45-UD3P - $133 price matched http://ncix.com/products/?sku=34003&...cture=Gigabyte
DDR2
2PCI-E
SATA2
RAID
HD Sound
2GLAN 1394a
CrossFireX

Which one of these gives me the best OC options/ performance overall. Also, I've heard really good things about this Gigabyte board for overclocking, but have been told it's PCI-E16 slots don't run at 16x/16x, where the Extreme Rampage does. Ill just wait, and see what you all say

 

[Drivr3g]

Number 3 is probably tour best bet if you want to go to 4 GHz and beyond.

 

[Rayce185]

Get the last one alongside with OCZ's LV Blades.

 

[amuse_me]

Is that gigabyte board really that great lol. I guess ASUS was just going for looks

 

[spaceballsrules]

The Gigabyte mobo with this RAM. http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...acture=MUSHKIN

 

[dodgyr]

The Gigabyte is the way to go.

 

[Stellarex]

The asus boards are really good, but that Gigabyte board is probably the best. I have the Rampage formula and I love it! I sold my Gigabyte board to get this one.

 

[dennyb]

UD3P will do the job quite nicely

 

[amuse_me]

Hm... what are my potentials with the Rampage extreme with a lapped Q9550.

 

[Ladiesman101]

Foxxconn Black Ops
DDR3
waterblock w/ Nbridge included
3Xfire for 4890(if an option)
great BIOS

 

[dennyb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amuse_me Hm... what are my potentials with the Rampage extreme with a lapped Q9550.

I'm wingin' it here but I don't think you will get any higher FSB speed with the Rampage Extreme. Here is the whole thing in a nutshell. A UD3P will most likely get you to 500 or more FSB. You will not be FSB limited by the board,but your OC will most likely be voltage and or temperature limited. Why spend more for a board that probably won't get you any higher? As always -your choice in the end

 

[Djghost454]

I would definatly vote for the ud3p. Only thing holding me back from 3.8 and beyond on my 6600 right now are temps as I only have a 120 rad.

 

[grishkathefool]

I have had my UD3P up to 567FSB.... I am told that the UD3P is lab tested to 2232FSB... solid. It is spec'd at 1600, but I am runnig 24/7 at 1780. It is a solid board with both Dual-BIOS and HDA BIOS recovery, HDA is default enabled. The extra copper helps the board stay cooler at higher clocks. Unfortunately it is an Xfire only board... that is limited to DDR2. If you want to use higher speed memory, the EP45T-UD3P is the DDR3 version of this board.